Leon Trotsky a Failure or A Success

Trotsky is one of the most complex personalities in history yet he can be considered a failure as his vision for a glorious legacy was not achieved. Trotsky’s fundamental drive was influenced by his desire to remembered in history and this governed all his actions. He wanted to be remembered as an ideologue and thus the source of his failure for he is not remembered the way he desired to be remembered. Militarily, Trotsky was exceptional yet it compromised his legacy as a socialist. Furthermore, politically sphere it was his manipulation of history to secure his legacy that was later exposed that led to his failure. Conclusively, ideologically despite his unwavering efforts he was unable to achieve Permanent Revolution or secure his legacy as an ideologue. Militarily, Trotsky was an exceptional leader guaranteeing victory to the Bolsheviks. Although, this can be considered an immense success, his military actions compromised his strong ideological affiliations with Permanent Revolution to which he wanted to be remembered for. In 1917 Revolution Trotsky clearly states that it was the “popular masses moved under our banner and our uprising has won victory,” in usurping the Provisional Government. However, post-revisionist historian after access to the archives after its opening in 1991, claimed that it was not a popular uprising but a military coup but Trotsky was merely tried to cement his position in history as a socialist. Thus, his source of failure in not being remembered as a socialist. In 1921 during the Civil War Trotsky was exceptional yet his brutal methods of force compromised his legacy as an ideologue. Firstly, he introduced conscription allowing him to yield a numerical advantage over the Whites and by 1920 the Red Army had 3 million members. Trotsky prioritised strict discipline and ordered that any commissar or commander who retreated would be shot stating that “to a gangrenous wound a red-hot iron was applied.” Consequently, within a month Red…